Lucero frontman Ben Nichols has announced a new solo album, In the Heart of the Mountain, which will be out July 25 via the band’s Liberty & Lament label. It’s his second solo album and first in 16 years. “I’d say In the Heart of the Mountain is the closest I’ve come to making an album completely on my own terms,” Nichols says. “I had help from a great engineer and great friends who also happened to be amazing studio musicians, but it was self produced. I wrote it without input from anyone else. There were no band members to negotiate parts and approaches with. It wasn’t based on a novel or a theme. The only inspiration was that desire to create something that lived in my memories of those rivers, fields, and mountains, in that mythological Arkansas my family called home, where I grew up. I haven’t been able to get back there nearly as often as I would like.”
The first single from the album is “Fading Back Into the Night,” which he says is about, “Missing the boat. Getting to the game just a little too late. And then just fading away. That and the idea of the stars disappearing with the sunrise but always still being there in the night on the other side of the world. For some reason I thought those two sentiments went together nicely in one song.” You can watch the video below.
Ben will on a solo tour this summer with stops in Little Rock, Tulsa, Columbus, Cleveland, Chattanooga, and more. All dates are listed below
In the Heart of the Mountain:
1. In the Heart of the Mountain
2. The Darkness Sings
3. A Bleak Overture
4. From a Western or a War Movie
5. While the Stars Disappear
6. Fading Back Into the Night
7. I’m in Over My Head
8. She’s Starlight in the River
9. The Prayer
10. The Swamper’s Lament
11. The Devil Takes His Leave
Ben Nichols Solo Tour Dates
July 5 – Fischer, TX – Devil’s Backbone
July 24 – Little Rock, AR – Whitewater Tavern
July 25 – Little Rock, AR – Whitewater Tavern
July 26 – Tulsa, OK – Mercury Lounge
July 27 – St. Louis, MO – Golden Record
July 29 – Indianapolis, IN – Hi-Fi Indy
July 30 – Lexington, KY – The Burl
July 31 – Columbus, OH – Rumba Café
August 2 – Cleveland, OH – Grog Shop
August 3 – Huntington, WV – The Loud
August 5 – Morgantown, WV – 123 Pleasant Street
August 6 – Knoxville, TN – Open Chord Music
August 7 – Greenville, SC – Radio Room
August 8 – Chattanooga, TN – Cherry Street Tavern